Skip to main content

Mark Zuckerberg plans to travel to every state for his new year’s resolution

Mark Zuckerberg will be hitting the road with his wife Priscilla Chan in tow as part of his latest “personal challenge.”

The Facebook CEO plans to visit and meet locals from every state to find out how Americans are “living, working and thinking about the future.” Judging by his post, Zuckerberg’s trips will see him host talks at universities, visit his company’s offices, meet with individuals from the public and private sector, and even visit places on the recommendation of the Facebook community.

Recommended Videos

Announced via his Facebook page, the CEO’s new year’s resolutions of sorts have grown increasingly ambitious over the years. In the past, Zuckerberg’s personal challenges have seen him run 365 miles, learn Mandarin, and build a digital assistant for his home.

Although Zuckerberg has always touted his company’s greatest virtue as its ability to help connect people, his latest challenge will see him ditching the online world to get some real-life experience.

In his Facebook post, he writes of the societal “division” created by technology and how it can only be used as a positive force for change by making it “work for everyone.” Zuckerberg goes on to describe 2016 as a “tumultuous” year that unearthed a sense of division in the country, with a lot of people not receiving the benefits that have come from technology and globalization.

The term tumultuous could also be used in regards to the year Facebook just witnessed. The company’s detractors have blamed the social network for flaming the division Zuckerberg articulates in his message (courtesy of its algorithmic echo chamber and hyper-partisan and bogus news crisis).

Zuckerberg previously lashed out at his company’s critics by claiming that those who allege Facebook had a hand in “swaying” the election display a “lack of empathy” with American voters. Now he is planning to meet Americans from all walks of life, much like a politician on a campaign trail.

Considering a recent court filing by his company’s investors revealed that Zuckerberg has ambitions to run for office, this road trip could see the CEO get some much-needed practice for a change of career. Viewed from that perspective, his post suddenly seems a lot more statesman-like.

Zuckerberg claims he will be posting another message on Wednesday about “how everyone can join in” with his challenge. As in the past, he will likely keep everyone updated with his progress throughout the year.

Saqib Shah
Saqib Shah is a Twitter addict and film fan with an obsessive interest in pop culture trends. In his spare time he can be…
Activists behind Facebook ad boycott rip Zuckerberg after meeting
mark zuckerberg thinking

Activist organizations behind a widespread ad boycott of Facebook told Digital Trends they don’t believe CEO Mark Zuckerberg is committing to confronting hateful content after meeting with him and other Facebook executives on Tuesday -- with one calling it a "PR exercise."

Zuckerberg, COO Sheryl Sandberg, and CPO Christopher Cox met with organizers from the NAACP, Color Of Change, Anti-Defamation League, Stop Hate for Profit, and Free Press to discuss Facebook’s failure to curtail the spread of hate and disinformation across its platform. In a statement from Stop Hate for Profit, the organization said that Zuckerberg “offered the same old defense.”

Read more
Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for
A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Read more
Reddit just achieved something for the first time in its 20-year history
The Reddit logo.

Reddit’s on a roll. The social media platform has just turned a profit for the first time in its 20-year history, and now boasts a record 97.2 million daily active users, marking a year-over-year increase of 47%. A few times during the quarter, the figure topped 100 million, which Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in a letter to shareholders had been a “long-standing milestone” for the site.

The company, which went public in March, announced the news in its third-quarter earnings results on Tuesday.

Read more